The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hebe which is grown as an evergreen shrub and used as an ornamental container plant and a landscape plant. The new cultivar is known botanically as Hebe ‘Clear Skies’ and will be referred to hereinafter by the cultivar name ‘Clear Skies’.
‘Clear Skies’ resulted from a formal breeding program developed by the inventor to produce new cultivars of Hebe plants that are distinct from the existing varieties. ‘Clear Skies’ was bred in a cultivated area of Essex, United Kingdom and selected by the inventor in 1995. The new cultivar ‘Clear Skies’ is a hybrid plant that resulted from open pollination. The female parent is the unpatented variety Hebe pimeleoides glauco-caerulea, and the male parent is presumed to be an unnamed and unpatented Hebe albicans plant. ‘Clear Skies’ is considered by the inventor to be a true interspecific hybrid.
When compared with the female parent, ‘Clear Skies’ is distinguishable by its upright habit and a brighter foliage appearance. When compared with the presumed male parent plant, ‘Clear Skies’ is distinguishable by its silver-blue foliage. The foliage color of Hebe albicans is predominantly green or gray-green.
‘Clear Skies’ is an evergreen shrub that exhibits a compact, upright habit. The distinguishing traits that make ‘Clear Skies’ unique are steel-blue foliage, unique leaf shape and violet-blue flowers. The closest comparison plants are Hebe pinguifolia ‘Pagei’ (unpatented) and Hebe ‘Blue Star’ (unpatented). ‘Clear Skies’ differs from both of the comparison plants in foliage color, habit, and flower color.
The first asexual reproduction was conducted by the inventor, in a cultivated area of Essex, United Kingdom in March 1995. The method used for asexual propagation was softwood cuttings. Since that time, subsequent reproductions of ‘Clear Skies’ using softwood cuttings have established that the characteristics of the new cultivar remain stable and true to type in successive generations.